English

Etymology
English since 1613, from French théorie < Latin theoria < Greek polytonic|θε��ία ("contemplation, speculation, a looking at, things looked at") < polytonic|θε��έ� (to look at, view, consider, examine) < polytonic|θε���� (spectator) < polytonic|θέα (a view) + polytonic|��ά� (to see, to look).

Pronunciation
audio|en-us-theory.ogg|Audio (US)
:Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-ɪ�ri|-ɪ�ri

Noun
en-noun|theor|ies|-

1. countable An unproven conjecture.

#: I have a theory about who broke into the school last night, but I have no proof to back it up.

1. uncountable An expectation of what should happen, barring unforeseen circumstances.

#: So we�ll be there in three hours? � That�s the theory.

1. countable science A coherent statement or set of statements that attempts to explain observed phenomenon|phenomena.

#: There is now a well-developed theory of electrical charge.

1. countable science A logical structure that enables one to deduce the possible results of every experiment that falls within its purview.

#: The theory of relativity was proposed by Einstein.

1. uncountable mathematics A field of study attempting to exhaustively describe a particular class of constructs.

#: Knot theory classifies the mappings of a circle into 3-space.

1. countable logic A set of axioms together with all statements derivable from them.

#: A theory is consistent if it has a model.

Derived terms
rel-top3|terms derived from theory
acoustic theory
algorithmic information theory
antenna theory
atomic theory
catastrophe theory
category theory
cell theory
chaos theory
circuit theory
complexity theory
computation theory
control theory
critical theory
decision theory
rel-mid3
domino theory
extreme value theory
game theory
giant impact theory
graph theory
group theory
in theory
information theory
kinetic theory of gases
knot theory
literary theory
music theory
number theory
phlogiston theory
rel-mid3
probability theory
proof theory
quantum field theory
rational choice theory
set theory
signal theory
social theory
systems theory
theory of gravity
theory of relativity
theory of truth
type theory
value theory
virtue theory
rel-bottom

Related terms
theorem
theoretical
theorise, theorize

Translations
trans-top|an unproven conjecture
Arabic: ARchar|�ظر�ة unicode|(na�aríya) f
Croatian: {{t-|hr|teorija|f
Dutch: theorie
Finnish: t-|fi|teoria
French: t+|fr|théorie|f
German: t+|de|Theorie|f
Italian: t+|it|teoria|f
trans-mid
Japanese: �測 (okusoku), �測 (suisoku), �解 (kenkai)
Maltese: t-|mt|teorija|xs=Maltese
Norwegian: t-|no|teori|m
Portuguese: t+|pt|teoria|f
Russian: t+|ru|�ео�и�|f|trt'eórija|scCyrl, t|ru|гипо�еза|f|trgipót'eza|scCyrl
Spanish: t-|es|teoría|f
Swedish: t+|sv|teori|c
trans-bottom

trans-top|(uncountable) expectation
Arabic: ARchar|�ظر�ة unicode|(na�aríya) f
Croatian: t-|hr|teorija|f
Dutch: theorie
Finnish: t-|fi|teoria
German: t+|de|Theorie|f
Japanese: �測 (okusoku), �測 (suisoku), �解 (kenkai)
trans-mid
Norwegian: t-|no|idé|m, t-|no|teori|m
Portuguese: t+|pt|teoria|f
Russian: t+|ru|�ео�и�|f|trt'eórija|scCyrl
Spanish: t-|es|teoría|f
Swedish: t-|sv|idé|c, t+|sv|teori|c
trans-bottom

trans-top|a coherent set of statements attempting to explain observed phenomena
Arabic: ARchar|�ظر�ة unicode|(na�aríya) f
Croatian: t-|hr|teorija|f
Czech: t-|cs|teorie|f
Dutch: theorie
Finnish: t-|fi|teoria
French: t+|fr|théorie|f
German: t+|de|Theorie|f
Japanese: �� (riron), 学説 (gakusetsu)
trans-mid
Maltese: t-|mt|teorija|xs=Maltese
Norwegian: t-|no|teori|m
Portuguese: t+|pt|teoria|f
Russian: t+|ru|�ео�и�|f|trt'eórija|scCyrl
Spanish: t-|es|teoría|f
Swedish: t+|sv|teori|c
trans-bottom

trans-top|science: a logical structure that enables one to deduce the possible results
Croatian: t-|hr|teorija|f
Dutch: theorie
Norwegian: t-|no|teori|m
trans-mid
Portuguese: t+|pt|teoria|f
Russian: t+|ru|�ео�и�|f|trt'eórija|scCyrl
Spanish: t-|es|teoría|f
Swedish: t+|sv|teori|c
trans-bottom

trans-top|a field of study in mathematics
Croatian: t-|hr|teorija|f
Dutch: theorie
Finnish: t-|fi|teoria
French: t+|fr|théorie|f
German: t+|de|Theorie|f
Italian: t+|it|teoria|f
Japanese: �� (teiri), �� (riron), 学説 (gakusetsu)
Maltese: t-|mt|teorija|xs=Maltese
Norwegian: t-|no|teori|m
trans-mid
Portuguese: t+|pt|teoria|f
Russian: t+|ru|�ео�и�|f|trt'eórija|scCyrl
Spanish: t-|es|teoría|f
Swedish: t+|sv|teori|c
trans-bottom

trans-top|in logic: a set of axioms and all statements derivable from them
Croatian: t-|hr|teorija|f
Dutch: theorie
Finnish: t-|fi|teoria
German: t+|de|Theorie|f
Japanese: �� (teiri)
Norwegian: t-|no|teori|m
trans-mid
Portuguese: t+|pt|teoria|f
Russian: t+|ru|�ео�и�|f|trt'eórija|scCyrl
Spanish: t-|es|teoría|f
Swedish: t+|sv|teori|c
trans-bottom

checktrans-top
ttbc|Arabic: ARchar|�ظر�ة unicode|(na�aríya) f
ttbc|Chinese: �论/�� (l�lùn); 论/� (lùn); 学说/學説 (xuéshu�); �� (dàol�)
ttbc|Indonesian: teori
ttbc|Italian: teoria f
trans-mid
ttbc|Japanese: �� (���, iken)
ttbc|Korean: �론 (iron)
ttbc|Turkish: teori
ttbc|Vietnamese: lý thuyết
trans-bottom

See also
axiom
postulate
proposition

Category:1000 English basic words
Category:Check translations
Category:Greek derivations

ar:theory
de:theory
el:theory
fr:theory
ko:theory
hy:theory
io:theory
id:theory
it:theory
hu:theory
ja:theory
pl:theory
pt:theory
ru:theory
simple:theory
fi:theory
ta:theory
te:theory
vi:theory
tr:theory
zh:theory

• 2007-12-28 10:50 - Daniel Polansky - /* Translations to be checked */

Full Revision History